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Old 08-12-2013, 02:27 AM
 
Location: central Oregon
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I was just thinking of two frugal dishes that I love to cook: un-stuffed cabbage and pot pies.

I've always loved stuffed cabbage but hate the work involved. I also never liked the tomato sauce that my mom put on top. So I came up with un-stuffed cabbage. I cook the rice and hamburger (or ground whatever meat you have on hand) in separate pans. I cook cabbage and onion in a large pan and add the rice, meat and spices.
I make enough of this so I can eat it for a few meals.

I finally learned how to make pie crust after 40+ years of cooking! Now it is easy (but very time consuming) to make chicken pot pie. I just boil taters, fry the chicken, choose a veggie and make a gravy using chicken stock and milk.

I make a beef pot pie even quicker... I open a can of beef stew and put that between two crusts.

I just remembered that I once made a chicken pie using a can of thick chicken soup and an extra potato. Also, I've used cream of chicken soup as the gravy (although I much prefer to make my own!)
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Old 08-12-2013, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Kansas
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"Simply With Season" and "The More With Less Cookbook" both come from the Mennonite community and are excellent. They are basic and no frills so all ingredients are easy to get.
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Old 08-12-2013, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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Find it hard to believe that the only mention of ramen was that someone didn't like it. Spending time in the far east while in the service showed me the cheap ramen that you buy in the grocery stores is the base for very tasty and nutritious meals. If you take and add in the veggies ( cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, peas, corn, OR any other veggies you like or have on hand.) the broth packet has enough seasonings in for the complete meal. Really goes very well as a change for those rice and bean meals everyone else is saying to stick to.
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Old 08-13-2013, 02:47 AM
 
Location: central Oregon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deckdoc View Post
Find it hard to believe that the only mention of ramen was that someone didn't like it. Spending time in the far east while in the service showed me the cheap ramen that you buy in the grocery stores is the base for very tasty and nutritious meals. If you take and add in the veggies ( cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, peas, corn, OR any other veggies you like or have on hand.) the broth packet has enough seasonings in for the complete meal. Really goes very well as a change for those rice and bean meals everyone else is saying to stick to.
I agree! I have a cookbook around here somewhere (I boxed a bunch of them to get them off the counter.) that has recipes using ramen. One of my favorites is beef and broccoli using the beef packets.

I often just cook the noodles, drain, add a tiny bit of butter and half the packet mix and we have this for our starch. One packet for two people.

I absolutely love ramen spice packets to make gravy. Everyone says I make the greatest gravy and my trick is one spice packet , pepper to taste, 2 tablespoons butter (or oil of your choice) and flour, to one cup of liquid. I put a couple of drops of Brown Bouquet into my liquid.

Dinner for me can be a half packet of ramen: I add veggies (especially broccoli and/or zucchini) and sometimes a bit of ham, and then scramble an egg and drizzle that in for an egg drop soup. To finish I add chopped scallions and a few drops of soy sauce.

There was a time when my son was little that all I had for food was $10.00 a week. We ate ramen every other night and we never got tired of it. I didn't have the cookbook back then, but I was able to come up with enough varieties to keep it from getting boring.

I am not ashamed to say that this is still a staple item in my house.
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Old 08-13-2013, 08:27 AM
 
Location: "Daytonnati"
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So how do you cook the broccoli...do you boil it with the ramen, or cook it seperate? (I figure you just add water and boil those ramen packages)?
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Old 08-13-2013, 08:29 AM
 
Location: "Daytonnati"
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Quote:
Simply With Season" and "The More With Less Cookbook" both come from the Mennonite community and are excellent. They are basic and no frills so all ingredients are easy to get.
Cool! I have a Mennonite cookbook called "Extending the Table', with recipes from overseas & foreign countries (I guess were they have missions), but didnt know they put out oother cookbooks!!! Thanx!

(I cook out of Extending the Table, some good simple recipes in there).
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic east coast
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Yep, beans, rice (brown is better than white) eggs, seasonal fruits and vegetables, chicken on sale, ground turkey and the right mix of seasonings (easy enough to grow fresh, even on an indoor window sill) and you're good to go.

Just the way my peasant ancestors cooked in Europe...lots of recipes that involve cabbage, rice, and tomato sauce, bits of meat when available. Don't forget the garlic and the onions! No packaged goods, no chemical additives.

Stuffed cabbage, stuffed green peppers, noodles and fried cabbage, sauerkraut, maybe fresh sausage or some part of a pig...these simple recipes are frugal to buy and nutritious to eat.

And no saffron threads required.

To drink? Why, fresh water or a cup of herbal tea.
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Old 08-13-2013, 02:11 PM
 
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Still can't beat eating "weeds" cooked over a rocket stove.
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Old 08-13-2013, 08:47 PM
 
16,349 posts, read 30,053,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnywhereElse View Post
"Simply With Season" and "The More With Less Cookbook" both come from the Mennonite community and are excellent. They are basic and no frills so all ingredients are easy to get.
Not really. The "More with Less Cookbook" incorporates a number of recipes from the Third World that have some hard-to-find ingredients. Having said that, what was hard to find in the early 80s when the book was written (originally) is not so difficult in 2013.

Ir is an amazing testament to Doris Jansen Longacre that we are discussing a book that she published over thirty years ago. And it adds to the tragedy on her premature death to breast cancer.
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Old 08-13-2013, 10:53 PM
 
Location: central Oregon
1,908 posts, read 2,525,705 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayton Sux View Post
So how do you cook the broccoli...do you boil it with the ramen, or cook it seperate? (I figure you just add water and boil those ramen packages)?
Since it takes more time to cook broccoli, I either microwave it (for 3-5 minutes) or cook in boiling water and then add the ramen when broccoli is done. Frozen or fresh takes about the same time.


Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleDolphin View Post
Yep, beans, rice (brown is better than white) eggs, seasonal fruits and vegetables, chicken on sale, ground turkey and the right mix of seasonings (easy enough to grow fresh, even on an indoor window sill) and you're good to go.

Just the way my peasant ancestors cooked in Europe...lots of recipes that involve cabbage, rice, and tomato sauce, bits of meat when available. Don't forget the garlic and the onions! No packaged goods, no chemical additives.

Stuffed cabbage, stuffed green peppers, noodles and fried cabbage, sauerkraut, maybe fresh sausage or some part of a pig...these simple recipes are frugal to buy and nutritious to eat.

And no saffron threads required.

To drink? Why, fresh water or a cup of herbal tea.
Always using onions and garlic in this house.

My brother loves stuffed peppers (I hate cook peppers as much as I hate cooked carrots.) and I make him a couple when I make unstuffed cabbage for me. I just fill his peppers with my rice mixture, top with tomato sauce and cheese and bake (or microwave if he is starving!) until the cheese melts.

Cabbage and broccoli are staples here. Someone mentioned that we often overcook cabbage. That is probably the truth in my house: we like it fried in butter until it turns brown - not black, not burnt - or we like it baked until brown. (I can't think of a baked veggie that we have not liked.)

I make cole slaw a couple times a month - now that I found a dressing recipe that I love and it comes out the same every time.

I am really big on spices and had to make a spice shelf just to hold my dozens of large jars. I love to try new stuff so I add one new spice a month if I don't have to replenish too much of my favorites all at once.

Ice water or herbal tea sounds fine for dinner drinks.
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